We're Hiring!
We are located in the great city of Calgary, Alberta Canada! If you like the great outdoors, the Rocky Mountains and a bustling city this one great place to be!

Our Address::
Games Cafe Inc.
#102, 885 - 42nd Ave S.E
Calgary, Alberta T2G 1Y8
Canada
Google Map Location

Game Designer
RESPONSIBILITIES:
Essential Functions (% of Time):

1. (30%) Guide the design and creative direction of your game projects using a strong knowledge of game mechanics.
- Understand market trends and business requirements to help mould the design for our target market and best principles for casual game mechanics.
- Collaborate in a cross functional environment with overlapping ideas.

2. (30%) Work with the production team throughout the development of a product, solving design-related issues.
- Design, implement and test to ensure usability and an exceptional player experience.
- Ability to hold yourself and the design team to a high standard of quality and respond quickly to feedback.
- Produce workflows/schedules to track to the internal schedule as well as the publisher’s milestone dates.

3. (20%) Design new and innovative game concepts for the casual market.
- Play and Assess the game design potential of 3rd Party casual games.
- Be an expert of Casual Games.

4. (10%) Create and update detailed game design documents.
- Create detailed specs describing concept, game flow, artistic specifications, all content, assets, rules and behaviors, constraints, sound and voice scripts, etc. required to produce game.

5. (10%) Understand and contribute to the overall company goals.
- Mentor and provide constructive feedback to other developers on the team.
- Have fun, drive for success, make that winning game!

REQUIREMENTS:
• Passion for video games and broad knowledge of casual game titles and mechanics.
• Strong knowledge of basic rules of game designs (learning curve, difficulty curve and rhythm curve)
• Knowledge of Photoshop, Flash, and Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel)
• Strong communication ability (verbal and written) and work well in a team environment
• Strong analytical thinker who can communicate well with both internal and external parties
• Understanding of project management process and have the ability to provide schedule estimates and hit dates.

Gold Stars for those who have:
• Preferably at least 2+ published casual game titles.
• Familiarity with a LUA or other XML based scripting systems.
• Experience with 3D software such as Maya or Softimage.
• University or College degree preferred.

Note: Willing to mentor jr. game designers but a strong knowledgebase and passion is required!

Apply for this Game Designer position! please email jobs@gamescafe.com

Game Programmer
RESPONSIBILITIES:
We are seeking lead programmers for each production team. All of our games are programmed in C++ and use internal libraries/systems to speed up development. This gives us more flexibility and control to allow 1-2 programmers to produce all aspects of a finished game. As lead game programmer, you will be key to the quality of the game’s programming and the player’s experience.

• Work with production team to drive the implementation of the project’s technical vision.
• Work in conjunction with designers and artists to shape/mould gameplay and user experiences.
• Implement gameplay-related functionality including AI, controls, interfaces, game rules, etc in C++ and script.
• Maintain and update code, internal systems/libraries and follow group standards and best practices.
• Participate in Scrum meetings to update the team on task statuses and issues.
• Accept and provide direction, work well under pressure, and handle multiple tasks.
• Be a Team player able to help the organization reach its company-wide goals.
• Passionate gamer and creative problem solver.

REQUIREMENTS:
• BS in CS (or equivalent) and two years of experience.
• Experience with C/C++/C#, functional, and good understanding of and code portability.
• Experience with Windows development environment.
• Experience with DirectX, user-interface programming, and/or network programming.
• Solid math skills, linear algebra, trig, etc.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to prioritize tasks.

BONUS SKILLS:
• Previously part of a team or shipped at least one commercially product.
• Experience with console programming or working with embedded systems.
• Experience designing and implementing user interfaces.
• Casual games development experience.
• OSX Mac Programming.
• Flash Programming.
• Knowledge of networking.

Apply for this Lead Game Programmer position! please email jobs@gamescafe.com

Lead Game Artist
RESPONSIBILITIES
• Contribute innovative and original ideas and driving overall concept design and defining artistic style.
• Design and implement User Interfaces, Backgrounds, In-game HUD elements, icon development, mini-game assets, and other various 2D and 3D graphic art.
• Working closely with the game producer to schedule any art outsourcing requirements.
• Work with the artistic team to bid out and designate tasks; create, evaluate and revise art schedules to ensure that scheduled milestones are being met.

Gold Stars for those who have:
• Strong portfolio.
• BA or MFA in art or a related field preferred.
• Deep knowledge of Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, Maya, Softimage.
• Familiarity with all disciplines (techniques and tools): concept, modeling, texture, shading, animation, effects, technical art, and character development.
• Knowledge of game production pipeline.
• Outstanding attention to detail.
• Strong capability to multitask and prioritize.
• Previously part of a team with at least two commercially shipped products.
• Experience developing art for next gen platforms

Apply for this Lead Artist position! please email jobs@gamescafe.com